Forestry Commission Equality Analysis Form

1. What is the name of your policy, function or service?

The National Forest Estate – Strategic Directions 2. What are the main aims and objectives of the Policy function or service?

To tell the story of the National Forest Estate (NFE) and summarise directions in its management for the period 2012-15. This seeks to build on the NFE Strategic Plan 2009-13 which focussed on defining the tasks that Forestry Enterprise Scotland, as Estate managers would accomplish. The revision of the Strategic Plan for the NFE will provide a clear steer for the revision of regional and local plans (the precise format of this is currently under review). Appendix One of the Equality Analysis captures the key actions contained in the NFE Strategic Plan 2009- 13 which had the potential to impact on people with a brief summary of progress to date. Looking ahead the decision has been taken to seek a new approach in terms of a strategy for the NFE whilst retaining the original 6 strategic aims (captured below), ensuring clarity and fitness for purpose in the revised document. National strategic directions will be reflected in regional and local plans, that will be subject to Equality Analysis screening.

3. Briefly describe the impact (or potential impact) on people

The Strategic Plan for the NFE document itself will not have a new impact on people as its main function is to explain existing policy. The NFE, on the other hand, is a major source of public benefits and impacts on a wide range of people both as workers, leisure users, neighbours and stakeholders.

The document lays out the six goals for the NFE:  Safeguarding ‘national forestry treasures’  Delivering forestry for people and rural development benefits  Timber production for market stability and development  Contributing to the Scottish Government’s renewable energy targets  Landscape-scale management for biodiversity and ecosystem services  Supporting policy, R&D and exemplars of land use integration and best practice

Our management aims are described around a further six aspects:  Treasured. Treasured by the nation as a truly multi-purpose resource sustaining livelihoods, improving the environment, and as a place for enjoyment and involvement.  Healthy. Healthy ecosystems sustainably managed to provide ecosystem services in a changing climate.  Productive. Managed to sustain and utilise the productive potential of the land.  Accessible. Local woodlands and national treasures easily accessible, welcoming and open for all.  Cared for. Well looked after countryside with natural and cultural heritage in good condition.  Good value. Using the income-generating potential of the Estate to minimise the net cost of delivering public benefits. These goals and aims can be mapped against the main people impacts: Workers: The NFE is a major workplace for 850 direct staff and many hundreds of contractors engaged in delivering all six goals. We recognise that we cannot achieve our aims without a professional, motivated, diverse and dedicated workforce. FES is an equal opportunity employer and has a full suite of processes and guidance in place to encourage and ensure equality in the workplace for both direct employees and contractors. We recognise that there are equality challenges for workforce development, particularly in relation to a historically male-dominated industry and workforce, and also in relation to the limitations imposed by the outdoor/forest environment for those with some disabilities. It may also be the case that those in more urban-based cultural groups are less likely to consider employment in a land-based industry like forestry.

Leisure users: Some 8.7M visits are made each year to the NFE, many using designed recreation facilities, for example for mountain biking and wildlife viewing. (FC Scotland All Forests Visitor Monitoring; Survey of visitors to FCS forests 2004-2007) Two principle equality issues have been our focus in recent years: i) how can we make our existing forests more accessible to a wider range of people; and ii) building on the FCS repositioning programme what opportunities are there for the NFE to provide in terms of closer access to where people live. In our efforts to make our existing forests more accessible to a wider range of people we recognise that there are both physical and psychological barriers to access. Physical barriers in relation to terrain and facility design can have a negative impact on those with some disabilities, and on the elderly or those with young children. There may be psychological barriers to accessing forests for those more familiar with the urban environment, for some ethnic groups with negative cultural associations with the countryside, and for those groups that might have a fear of crime in the secluded forest environment. Our estate repositioning programme also recognises the locational barriers to access, particularly for those without private transport. Many people in Scotland are unable or unwilling to take part in enjoyable woodland activity due to factors such as disability, distance, low income, or fear of crime. Using or creating woodland nearer to people, and creating opportunities for group activity potentially can help to overcome these forms of social exclusion.

Just under four-fifths of our visitors travel to the forest by car (78%), 18% walk to the forest while much smaller proportions use other types of transport. Less than 1% of all visitors to Scottish forests use public transport to reach the forest. (FC Scotland All Forests Visitor Monitoring; Survey of visitors to FCS Forests 2004-2007). This is due in part either to the seasonal nature of some public transport services to the forests or no public transport provision to the forests is in place. We are actively acquiring sites close to Scotland’s towns and cities where we can create local countryside leisure opportunities accessible to more people on foot or by public transport. In part due to our efforts, between 2006 and 2009 the proportion of the population with accessible woodland greater than 20 hectares within 4 kilometres of their home has risen from 68% to 83% which has the effect of widening opportunities to visit the NFE to the Scottish population as a whole. (The Scottish Forestry Strategy: 2011-2014 Implementation Plan & 2010-2011 Progress Report). (http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/SFSprogressindicators2011.pdf/$FILE/SFSprogressindicators2011.pdf). Neighbours and stakeholders: We take stakeholder and neighbour consultation seriously in managing the NFE. This is evidenced through our FSC sustainable forestry certification which requires an appropriate level of ongoing stakeholder engagement (see http://ukwas.org.uk/). We recognise the ongoing challenge of engaging with as yet uninvolved people and groups, and how we need to target limited engagement resources to best effect. A particular challenge is to engage with those in urban communities who may have less initial knowledge of the natural environment, including those cultural groups focused in the urban environment. In all areas we are increasingly recognising the need to arrange community consultation in places and at times most likely to be convenient to as wide a cross-section of the community as possible.

4. What are the names and contact details of the initiative’s owner and the person who completed the Equality Analysis?

Simon Hodge, CEO, FES. [email protected] 01463 232811 Co-Auther: Liz Fraser, HR Business Partner, FCS [email protected] 0131 314 6240 5. Is this a new Equality Analysis or a review of a previous Equality Analysis?

3 year review.

Early review, Because of a major change to the way we are communicating the role of the NFE explain why. (although no major change to management priorities or approaches).

Review due to end of the initiative. 6. If this is a review, when was the previous Equality Analysis signed off?

The Strategic Plan for the National Forest Estate 2009 to 2013 was subject to a partial equality impact assessment in 2010. 7. How will this initiative be put into practice?

The entire effort and focus of Forest Enterprise Scotland is devoted to the subject of this document, namely managing the NFE. We have appointed a project officer to ensure our spatial and thematic planning hierarchies are fully connected into the national strategic directions. Part of this project is to determine the appropriate balance between spatially-based and theme-based planning at regional and national level. This will determine the nature of the plans to be subject to EqA and District and local levels. The National Strategic Directions will be communicated to staff through a bespoke staff summary. We will initiate a roll-out through the organisation via our senior managers meetings. This will be reinforced by a series of communication events in spring 2013, and through the annual business planning processes where resource allocations will be aligned to strategic priorities. In terms of external communication, we will align our web-site to the priorities and messages in the strategic directions document. National and local consultations on, for example, our forest plans and proposals for recreation facilities, will be guided by the national strategic directions. We will use our corporate plan and annual report cycle to define and report on priority actions arising from this document. This includes reporting against the FCS diversity commitments.

8. What evidence regarding the protected characteristics have you obtained to analyse this initiative? Quote sources including details of engagement.

The key sources of data used for the purposes of this Equality Analysis include: Visitors to Scotland’s forests and woodlands:  FC Scotland All Forests Visitor Monitoring (AFS1); Survey of visitors to FCS forests 2004- 2007 - Estimated 8.7 m visits to FCS forests per year. From sample tested: - 54% male; 46% female - 20% between 35 and 44; 43% aged 45 or over; 17% aged over 60 - 99% white; 1% non-white ethnic origin - 5% of visitors stated they or a party member had a disability or special need. - 49% were on a local day trip of less than 6 miles from home - 78% travelled to the forest by car; 18% walked; less than 1% used public transport  Forest Visitor Surveys 2009: Visitor Feedback Survey carried out at 5 forest districts in Scotland – a total of 530 surveys were completed across the 5 sites: - 36% male; 64% female - 17% aged 24 or under; 30% aged 25 – 44; 37% aged 45-64; 17% aged 65+ - 3% non-white visitor - 28% included someone with a long term illness, health problem or disability

Scottish population:

Gender: male National average: 48% (Census 2001); Gender: female National average: 52% (Census 2001);

Disability: Scotland National average: 13.5% using the definition DDA disabled and also work-limiting disabled (Annual Population Survey April 2010 – March 2011) Types of disability: – (Disability in Scotland 2004 DRC) - It is estimated that there are 180,000 people in Scotland who have serious sight problems (RNIB Scotland) . - In May 2003 an estimated 18,066 adults with learning disabilities were known to local authorities throughout Scotland (Scottish Executive, 2004). - It is estimated that 729,000 people have some form of hearing loss, deafness or may be a Deaf person Eighty per cent of hearing impaired people are aged over 60 years (Scottish Executive, 2003). - One in four people will experience a mental health problem at some point in their lives (Scottish Association for Mental Health)

Minority ethnic National average: 2% (Census 2001);

Age: 17 % aged under 16 63% working age (16 to approximately 60.14 for women, 16-64 for men). 20 % pensionable age (approximately 60.15 and over for women and 65 and over for men) (Scottish Government statistics)

Under 25 years old National average: 29%(Census 2001); Over 45 years old National average: 55% (Census 2001);

Religion (Census 2001)  Church of Scotland: 42%  No religion 27.5%  Roman catholic 16%  Other Christian 7%  Religion not stated 5.5%  Islam 0.8%  Other religion 0.6%  Buddhism 0.1%  Sikhism 0.1%  Judaism 0.1%  Hinduism 0.1%

FC Scotland Workforce demographics as at 30 March 2012: Gender Female: 26.5% Male: 73.5% Age Distribution 20 and under 4% 21 - 25 6% 26 – 30 6% 31 – 35 98% 36 – 40 10% 41 – 45 15% 46 – 50 20% 51 – 55 17% 56 – 60 11% 61 – 65 7% 66 and over 0.5% Disability 2.2 % of staff consider themselves to have a disability 97.8% of staff consider themselves to be non-disabled Ethnicity 0.3% of FC Scotland staff are of Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic origin (BAME) The 2011 Staff Survey results for Scotland did not identify any issues for particular groups in our workforce.

9. What gaps are there in the available evidence?

Describe the gaps and what you have done to fill them, or why you cannot fill them.

Data regarding visits to FCS forests has been extracted from 3 key sources: All Forest Surveys (AFS) 1; sampling covered the period 2004-2007; Forest Visitor Surveys 2009 and FCS Annual Mystery Shopping Report 2010/11 which pre-dated the introduction of the Equality Act 2010.

A 2nd All Forest Survey (AFS2) is currently in the process of being put out to tender and this will provide up to date and more robust data regarding our visitor demographics.

The results from the 2010 and 2011 FC Forest Visitor Surveys are with FC Economics & Statistics being collated and analysed.

In addition when the 2011 Census results are published these will provide up to date demographics regarding the Scottish population.

Age Evidence relating to age of our Visitors, Workforce and Scottish population captured above

Disability Evidence relating to overall numbers of our Visitors, Workforce and Scottish population who consider they have a disability captured above. Data relating to specific impairment groups within Scottish population captured above ,

Gender Evidence relating to gender of our Visitors, Workforce and Scottish population captured above.

Gender No visitor data; No Scottish population data publicly available. Workforce: the Reassignment 2011 Staff Survey showed around 0.5 % of in FC staff identified themselves as transgender. There were no particular issues highlighted and those who identified themselves as transgender were as content with the FC.

Marriage and Civil No visitor data; no workforce data; In 2010 there were 28, 480 marriages and Partnership 465 civil partnerships in Scotland (GRO 2010) Pregnancy and No visitor data; no population data; Workforce: using data going back to 2005, Maternity for FC as a whole we have analysed our return to work after maternity leave. We are encouraged that, on average 84% of women return to work following their pregnancy and that this figure will increase if those who remain absent return to work in due course. Many women have more than one period of maternity leave and we offer unpaid leave and Career Break options to extend periods of absence and offer flexibility.

Race Evidence relating to ethnic origin of our Visitors, Workforce and Scottish population captured above

Religion and Evidence captured relating to religion or belief of Scottish population; No Belief visitor data; Workforce: the Staff Surveys of 2009 and 2011 indicate that around 46% of FC employees are Christian and 27% have no belief. However, Buddhism, Judaism, Hindu and Islam are also represented, though in low numbers.

Sexual No visitor data; no comprehensive official statistics on sexual orientation for Orientation population; Workforce: the Staff Survey 2011 showed that between 1 and 3 % of FC staff identify themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual.

10. What does all the evidence tell you about the actual or likely impact on different groups?

Positive Negative High, Comments Impact impact Medium or Low Age x medium Leisure users: older people benefit from provision of access designed with all abilities in mind, and for provision of information that makes level of difficulty clear. From our surveys we know that a wide range of people of all ages visit our forests and woodlands. We will continue to seek feedback through the use of questionnaires. Neighbours and stakeholders: A flexible approach to conducting consultation meetings such as offering opportunities outwith standard working times should be taken to ensure as many stakeholders are able to

Disability x high Workers: due to the rough terrain of much of our land those with some physical disabilities may be presented with particular challenges to undertaking the full range of manual roles in the field. However as an equal opportunity employer we are committed to making reasonable adjustments to minimise or overcome barriers. Leisure users: those with disabilities benefit from provision of access designed with all abilities in mind, and for provision of information that makes level of difficulty clear. We continue to engage with Field Fare Trust on an ongoing basis across the FC Scotland estate to evaluate the facilities including trails to ensure these reach as diverse an audience as possible. In 2011, our Central Scotland’s Branching Out initiative was shortlisted in the ‘Leading Change in Equality and Diversity’ category, with partners Glasgow Clyde Valley Green Network Partnership, Glasgow Centre for Population Health, NHS Grater Glasgow, and Clyde and Glasgow City Council. Branching Out is a referral programme for mental health patients to maximise the therapeutic benefits that green space has on a wide range of physical and mental health issues.

Gender x medium Workers: Traditionally, employment in the forestry profession has been male dominated and perceived as a practical, outdoors, and physical role. In order to attract a wider range of applicants to our advertised vacancies we have been proactive in trying to dispel some of the myths surrounding forestry. In April 2010 FC Scotland ran a pilot career event for Women in Forestry with Napier University. In April 2010 our recruitment decreased significantly due to the requirement to downsize the wider Civil Service. Improving the diversity of our staff is difficult under these continuing restrictions, but it remains an aim. Leisure users: Analysis of our visitors to the FCS forests has indicated that the number of male and female visitors to FCS forests is almost equal and fairly representative of the Scottish population. . Gender x low At a corporate level FC has engaged reassignment with a:gender and Stonewall several times and these organisations have not raised any issues about our customer services with regard to meeting the needs of the transgendered community

Marriage and Civil x low Not tested to date; no sites in Scotland Partnership are licensed to provide civil weddings

Pregnancy and x low Leisure users: those with young children Maternity and pushchairs benefit from provision of access designed with all abilities in mind, and for provision of information that makes level of difficulty clear.

Race x high Workers: In Scotland the largest percentage of ethnic groups are concentrated in the central belt urban areas. In April 2010 our recruitment decreased significantly due to the requirement to downsize the wider Civil Service. Improving the diversity of our staff is difficult under these continuing restrictions, but it remains an aim. Leisure users: Some ethnic groups may have a preponderance of negative associations with the countryside, seeing it as a relatively wild and hostile place. BAME women feel particularly vulnerable in dense woodlands and in rural areas in general (OPENspace Review of Scottish Forestry Strategy: Consultation Process, Focus Groups 2004). . Neighbours and stakeholders: More urban focused ethnic groups may not have had ready opportunity to engage on forestry issues. The data collected as part of AFS 1 showed 1% of visits were undertaken by those from a non-white ethnic origin. 49% of visits were carried out by those a local day trip of less than 6 miles from home thus we can be confident that the majority of visitors will be representative of the local population. The 2001 Census demonstrates that 2% of the Scottish population comes from a non-white ethnic background. Census data also reveals that a much higher percentage of people from minority ethnic backgrounds live in large urban area, compared to White people. Only 39% of the total population of Scotland live in large urban areas but the proportion is much higher for many BAME groups, for example Indian origin (74%), Pakistani origin (80%), Bangladeshi origin (76%), Other South Asian origin (75%) and African origin (74%).

Looking at the percentage of minority ethnic population in each local authority region confirms that minority ethnics tend to be concentrated in large urban areas. Glasgow has the highest percentage of minority ethnic people with 31% of the total minority ethnic population living in the city. Edinburgh follows this with 18%. The lowest concentrations are found in rural areas such as Angus (0.8%) and Orkney Isles (0.1%) (cited in Trade Unions and Black and Minority Ethnic Workers in Scotland STUC Research 2004). We will continue to monitor visitor numbers through analysing the results from public opinion surveys and seek opportunities to work with local groups to encourage BAME communities to visit the national forest estate.

Religion and x low Leisure users: Adherents of many Belief religions and none revere the sense of spirituality that can be gained in the countryside, in communion with nature. Due to the type of recreation activities offered by FC we have very few requests for adapted services and facilities that relate to religion and belief. Sexual x low FC has not received any customer Orientation complaints with regard to sexual orientation issues. Discussions at a corporate level with Stonewall have also indicated there do not appear to be any particular issues with regard to customer access and participation linked to sexual orientation. As with all of the 9 protected groups we are open to approaches to organise specific events. 11. What have you changed in the initiative to reduce or eliminate any negative impact?

Workers: Our People Strategy 2011-16 Fit for the Future lays out how we will take positive action for equality in the workplace (http://alpacorn.forestry.gov.uk:7777/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/ECONNECT/PERSONNEL %20DEVELOPMENT/FIT%20FOR%20OUR%20FUTURE%20-%20PEOPLE%20STRATEGY%202011- 2016.PDF)

A key theme of our People Strategy is to recruit and employ more people with protected characteristics in order to make the Forestry Commission as representative of the population as possible. Spending restrictions meant that active advertising in media outlets specifically aimed at various protected characteristic groups ceased in April 2010. Our recruitment also decreased significantly from that date, due to the requirement to downsize the wider Civil Service. Improving the diversity of our staff is difficult under these continuing restrictions, but it remains an aim. Meantime, we shall do all that we can to understand and eliminate any issues of inequality towards our staff and to ensure our interviewing processes are not discriminatory.

Leisure users: Our community and recreation work is directed by four existing policy documents for each of which equality and diversity are a core focus:  Working with communities: our commitment (http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-7Q4J6R)  Forests for People Recreation Framework (http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/fcfc114.pdf/$FILE/fcfc114.pdf)  Woods In and Around Towns (http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/fcfc120.pdf/$FILE/fcfc120.pdf)  Woods for Health Strategy (http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/fcfc011.pdf/$FILE/fcfc011.pdf)

Neighbours and stakeholders: Our approach to consultation and engagement is laid out in Working with communities: our commitment (http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-7Q4J6R) and OGB 44 Equality and Diversity (http://alpacorn.forestry.gov.uk:7777/portal/page? _pageid=33,1404557&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL)

Equality messages and commitments are embedded through the Strategic Directions document. During 2011 the FC conducted Public Opinion Surveys in UK, Scotland and Wales. The Surveys indicated that people have a great interest in visiting forests and that around two thirds or more of all respondents said they had visited forests or woodlands in the last few years. Disabled respondents were least likely to have visited forests or woodlands and personal mobility reasons (difficulty in walking etc) was one of the most commonly reported reasons for not visiting. The number of BAME respondents in Scotland was also very low, reflecting national demographics. The Public Opinion Survey records positive responses from respondents in different categories. In response to the question ‘In the last few years, have you visited forests or woodlands for walks, picnics or other recreation?’: 70% of not disabled and 57% of disabled respondents in the UK said Yes 67% of male and 68% of female respondents in the UK said Yes 71% of White and 34% of BAME respondents in the UK said Yes 69% of respondents age 44 or under, and 66% of respondents aged 45 or over in the UK said Yes. From this we can determine that there is little statistical difference in the gender and age demographics of our customers. However, there are clear differences in the level of participation in our services of disabled people and BAME communities. Therefore, we will focus our attention on engaging other communities to improve their use and enjoyment of the public forest estate e.g. people with disabilities and BAME communities. Actions to take forward this commitment are captured in the 4 existing policy documents above and actions being taken forward at a local level are contained in regional and local plans.

12. Where negative impact can not be reduced, give the reasons why.

The whole NFE is open for responsible access but may not be suitable for less able user groups or those unfamiliar with using remote countryside. We work to achieve the right balance between facilities that facilitate access for all, and wider countryside where no specific facilities are provided but which is open for informal access. We work with the funding made available to us for Communities, Recreation and Tourism delivery – our current allocation is net £12M. We seek to supplement this by revenue generation, for example by car-park charges at our major visitor facilities. Nonetheless, we use the business plan process to focus resources where they will have the greatest positive impact on accessibility and local economic impact. We have made major investments in the accessibility of our buildings. However, there are a small number of locations where practical barriers to access cannot be reasonably overcome. These are not sites used by the public, and are generally workshop type facilities that have a very limited number of users. 13. Does this initiative fulfil the General Equality Duty?

Comment Eliminate unlawful discrimination, Yes - In our efforts to make our existing forests more accessible harassment and victimisation. to a wider range of people we recognise that there are both physical and psychological barriers to access. Physical barriers in relation to terrain and facility design can have a negative impact on those with disabilities, and on the elderly or those with young children. There may be psychological barriers to accessing forests for those more familiar with the urban environment, for some ethnic groups with negative cultural associations with the countryside, and for those groups that might have a fear of crime in the secluded forest environment. Our estate repositioning programme also recognises the locational barriers to access, particularly for those without cars. Many people in Scotland are unable or unwilling to take part in enjoyable woodland activity due to factors such as disability, distance, low income, or fear of crime. Using or creating woodland nearer to people, and creating opportunities for group activity can overcome these forms of social exclusion.

Advance equality of opportunity. Yes - FES is an equal opportunity employer and has a full suit of processes and guidance in place to encourage and ensure equality in the workplace for both direct employees and contractors. Our People Strategy 2011-16 Fit for the Future lays out how we will take positive action for equality in the workplace

Foster good relations. Yes - We take stakeholder and neighbour consultation seriously in managing the NFE. This is evidenced through our FSC sustainable forestry certification which requires an appropriate level of ongoing stakeholder engagement (see http://ukwas.org.uk/). We recognise the ongoing challenge of engaging with as yet uninvolved people and groups, and how we need to target limited engagement resources to best effect. A particular challenge is to engage with those in urban communities who may have less initial knowledge of the natural environment, including those cultural groups focused in the urban environment. In all areas we are increasingly recognising the need to arrange community consultation in places and at times most likely to be convenient to as wide a cross-section of the community as possible.

14. Describe the arrangements to measure and monitor the actual impact of this initiative on people from the protected characteristic groups.

How will you measure the effects of Equality monitoring commitments are embedded in the sectoral the initiative? policy documents listed in section 11. These, in turn are linked to monitoring of a national set of indicators for forestry, including for Community development, and Access and Health at http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/SFSprogressindicators2011.pdf/ $FILE/SFSprogressindicators2011.pdf

The diversity characteristics of forest visitors will be monitored through All Forest Surveys.

We will include a consultation framework in our regional plans, which will be subject to public consultation. This will provide a locally agreed framework for local consultation on our land management plans and local activities. The consultation plans will include commitments to monitoring the effectiveness of our consultation, and this evidence will be collated at national level to inform national policy.

What type of information is needed FC Scotland conducts a variety of surveys to obtain feedback for monitoring and how often will it be from our “customers” including the FCS Annual Mystery analysed? Shopping Report. A 2nd All Forest Survey (AFS2) is currently in the process of being put out to tender and this will provide up to date and more robust data regarding our visitor demographics.

The results from the 2010 and 2011 FC Forest Visitor Surveys are with FC Economics & Statistics being collated and analysed.

In addition when the 2011 Census results are published these will provide up to date demographics regarding the Scottish population.

Our approach to consultation and engagement is laid out in How will you engage stakeholders* in Working with communities: our commitment implementation, monitoring and (http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-7Q4J6R) and OGB 44 review? Equality and Diversity (http://alpacorn.forestry.gov.uk:7777/portal/page? _pageid=33,1404557&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL)

Equality messages and commitments are embedded through the Strategic Directions document.

Who will be responsible for the Ultimately responsibility sits with the CEO but the FES CRT and monitoring and review? Estates Managers and the 10 Forest District Managers will have a key role to play in monitoring and reviewing progress on national and local initiatives.

15. What is the review date for this Equality Analysis?

Date of next review(s) 2015 What could trigger an early revision? Change of strategic direction/policy 16. Senior manager sign off

I agree with this Equality Analysis and its supporting evidence relating to this initiative and that it demonstrates that it advances or will advance, the three aims of the General Equality Duty.

Name SIMON HODGE

Signature

Job Title CEO